A Reply to the "Letter to the Editor - Stand Your Ground"

I`m writing this in reply to a letter that was submitted by Patrick Anderson in regards to "Stand Your Ground" (Cedar Key News April 13, 2012). I am a firm believer in the right to bear arms and I exercise that right every day. I am currently in the U.S. Army and have done one 15 month combat tour in Iraq. I have possessed a concealed carry permit from the state of Florida since I was 21, the legal age to buy and possess a handgun. I was taught by my father and other family members from a young age the proper handling of any kind of firearm and the proper time to use a firearm. I am very passionate about firearms and the RIGHT for every law abiding American to possess them. It almost hurts me when I read of Americans that are on the complete opposite side of the fence as I am. I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I will never tell anyone that their opinion is "wrong". I will tell that person that I disagree with what they are saying and I will present what I believe to be valid arguments and I will strive to provide factual evidence to support my opinion. I am not the most educated person in the world, and this seems to be a perfect point to attack when I am trying to explain my feelings on this matter. I have a southern accent and grew up in a very small community and am automatically seen as an uneducated "hick". With that being said, I have some things I would like to express.

It seems that more and more people are starting to jump on the bandwagon of banning firearms in America. I have noticed that the most used argument in the pursuit to ban firearms is that "firearms are the cause of crimes". We have all heard this argument and we can all agree that a fair part of crimes that are committed involve firearms, but can the firearms themselves be blamed for the commission itself? If that person committing the crime didn`t have a firearm, would that make them not want to commit crimes and be a law abiding citizen? I cannot blame a gunshot victim on the gun, I can only blame it on the person who pulled the trigger. Do we see crimes that were committed with knives and automatically try to ban knives? Do we see a stabbing victim and try to blame the knife? No. We do not hold court to prosecute a firearm, knife, blunt object or vehicle. We prosecute the individual that was in possession of the object at the time of the crime. I cannot bring myself to blame a vehicle for someone who was killed by a drunk driver, and I most certainly cannot bring myself to blame a McDonalds or a spoon for making someone overweight.

You see, it seems that we - gun supporters and those against guns - have come to some sort of stalemate. Neither side is going to agree with the others opinions and we are all going to stick to our beliefs. The only thing that we can do is argue out point and hope that we are the ones that are heard the loudest. I have done research on the subject because I do not like to engage in a conversation or debate without being properly armed (no pun intended). I think that a lot of people on both sides of the debate jump to conclusions without doing the proper research and having the proper facts to back their opinions. According to the International Firearm Injury Prevention and Policy, in 2008 there were 16,272 total homicides in the United States. Of those, 9,484 were caused by firearms. Now, my math skills aren`t the best, but with the use of a handy dandy calculator, it seems that in 2008, 58% of all homicides in the United States were committed with a firearm. I`m sure that some are only going to look at the fact that the majority of homicides were committed with firearms and won`t look at the big picture and see that 42% were committed by other means. 6,788 homicides were committed by other means. My point is, if we ban guns, the crime doesn`t stop. Criminals don`t commit crimes because they have guns, they commit them because that`s what they do.

Another statistic from the Department of Justice states that in 2008, roughly 5,340,000 violent crimes, including simple/aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, rapes and murders were committed. Of that total number, about 436,000 or 8% were committed by offenders visibly armed with a gun. For argument sake, let`s assume that some of these were committed by individuals with guns, but were not visible and increase that 8% to 12%. That means that roughly 88% of violent crimes that were committed in 2008 were done so without the use of a firearm. Now, according to the DoJ, a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Americans use guns to frighten away intruders who are breaking into their homes about 498,000 times per year. In 1982 a survey of male felons in 11 state prisons dispersed across the U.S. found that 34% had been "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim", 40% had decided not to commit a crime because they "knew or believed that the victim was carrying a gun" and 69% personally knew other criminals who had been "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim". These numbers can be a little overwhelming at times, and most people who oppose guns don`t take the time to do their research and see that there are a staggering number of crimes that AREN`T committed BECAUSE of guns, roughly 498,000 a year it would seem.

Now, to comment on Mr. Anderson`s letter. I read and re-read this "story" many times trying to decide what to make of it. I don`t know if Mr. Anderson has been personally affected by a gun related crime or if the story itself is something that he knows for a fact actually happened. If either of these is the case, I am deeply sorry for any loss that was felt by Mr. Anderson. I understand his position to some extent and I definitely respect his opinion and beliefs, but I would like to take the time to express mine. I`m sure you have already guessed I do not believe that taking away guns is going to solve the problem. The fact of the matter is, less than 10% of gun related crimes are committed by either A. legally purchased firearms or B. persons legally eligible to possess a firearm. It`s not the law abiding citizens like myself that are committing the crimes, it`s the criminals that possess a firearm illegally that commit the majority of the crimes. As I stated before, if you take away guns, you are only going to make it harder for the regular citizens to protect themselves against the criminals. There is an old saying that I firmly believe in: "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns". Never before has this meant something to a large portion of the population than it does today. We are living in a society that threatens to have its rights stripped away by those that do not understand what the consequences will be.

Finally, if you are against guns don`t buy one, but do not punish those of us that are only doing what we see will help protect ourselves. I have been a Military Police Officer for 6 years now and there is one thing I have learned that can be used in this conversation as well. Police officers may be one of the single most hated groups of people in the U.S., yet we are the first ones that are called on when someone is in need. To put is short, everyone hates us until they need us. The same can be said for guns. They are hated until they are needed. One day there will come a time when a situation arises where you wish you had a gun. And when that time comes, you will finally understand why we fight as hard as we do to keep our RIGHT.

Kenneth W. McCain JR
United States Army
Military Police